Tympan for printing-presses



No. 6|3,2|`7. Patented oct. 25, |398. A. s. ALLEN.

TYMPAN FOR PRINTING PRESSES.

(Application led Feb. 4, 1898.) (N0 Model.)

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5o the printing-surface.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ARTHUR S. ALLEN, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

TYM PAN FOR PRINTING-PRESSES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 613,217, dated October 25, 1898.

Application led February 4, 1898. Serial No. 669 ,041. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ARTHUR S. ALLEN, of Boston, county of Suolk, State of Massachusetts, have invented an Improvement in Tympans for Printing-Presses, of which the following description, in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a specification, like letters on the drawings representing like parts.

In the process of printing it is necessary'in order to secure uniformity in the printed surface-that is, to enable all the type to be shown equally and uniformly--that the printing-surface at the bed of the press and its opposed tympan should at the printing-point from edge to edge be substantially parallel, and to insure this parallelism and gain uniformity the printer has frequently to build up with paper or otherwise the parts of the tympan or to raise parts of the type or other printing surface at the bed to the desired level. The putting .of the printing-surface of Whatever form and the tympan-surface in this parallelism is called making ready, and very considerable time is consumed in this preparatory step.

I have devised a tympan containing a peculiar auxiliary bed, which is applied to the platen, which may be of any form commonly used in presses of the character shown or in cylinder or other power presses, the use of this bed rendering unnecessary the step of make-ready. My improved auxiliary bed is composed of wire formed to constitute a spring or coil, said coils occupying such position with relation to the platen in connection with which they are used that when in use in printing they receive and resist pressure transversely to the length of the coils, said coils being laid side by side and preferably engaged one with the other, and the coils may be linked, woven, or interlocked in any usual or suitable manner. This auxiliary bed receives upon it, preferably, a suitable flexible leveling-sheet, and thereafter a sheet or sheets of paper or cloth may be laid over the leveling-sheet, so that it will present a substantially smooth and level surface and constitute the tympan-surface as opposed to In case of necessity this bed, with the parts mounted upon and constituting the tympan, may yield to any unusual unevenness of type, plate, or printing surface, and thereby avoid injury to either of said surfaces. This yielding,where it does take place, owing to the character of the bed, is evenly distributed at and about the point where the necessity for the yielding exists, so that the printed surface will not show imperfect printing, such as a lack of proper amount of color, or an excess of color, or unevenness of impression. Preferably for the best results the coils entering into the auxiliary bed will be united together, so that when laid on the surface of the platen the bed may substantially cover the same, and thereafter I prefer to lay upon the surface of the auxiliary bed, as stated, a thin liexible. levelin g-sheet, which maybe composed of vulcanite iiber or hard rubber, Celluloid, or thin sheetsteel, or other equivalent surface adapted to yield slightly when desired, and yet be supported properly by or through the auxiliary bed. This leveling-sheet may and preferably will in practice be covered with one or more sheets of heavy manila or other suitable paper, cloth, or material commonly applied in connection with a platen, upon which may rest one side of the paper, card, or other thing being printed; but my invention would not be departed from if the manila or other sheets were applied directly to the auxiliary bed; but for the best results the employment of the leveling-sheet is preferred.

Referring to the drawings, Figure l, in perspective, shows a sufficient portion of one form of well-known press with my improvements applied thereto. Fig. 2 is a partial face view of the platen with its attached tympan, the covering and the leveling sheets being partially broken out to show the auxiliary bed under them. Fig. 3 is a partial section of Fig. 2

on the line x, and Fig. 4 shows a modified form of spring-coil to enter into the auxiliary bed.

To illustrate my invention, I will but brieliy describe the press to which it is shown as applied, and, referring to the drawings, let Arepresent the bed, and a the printing surface or form, of any Well-known desired or suitable character, it containing the matter to be trans- IOO ferred to a sheet by printing, and B represents the platen. The platen is embraced at its upper and lower ends by suitable clamps B', which serve the purpose of holding in place the usual strong sheets of paper, as B2 B3, of any suitable kind or weight, or it may be cloth or any other usual material commonly employed in printing to constitute a face for a platen.

Myinvention lies substantiallyin the auxiliary bed sustained by the platen B, it having the usual covering. This auxiliary bed D is composed of a series of coils of wire laid side by side in such manner that when the auxiliary bed is in use the coils will receive and resist pressure in a direction transversely to their length,and preferably said coils will be united, so that the bed may be handled as an entirety when being applied to the platen of whatever form to constitute an operating part of the tympan.

In the form in which my invention is shown in Figs. l to 3 the coils are circular, resembling the coils of coiled springs, and the turns of the springs interlock with turns of an adjacent spring.

This invention is not, however, limited to the employment of circular coils, and instead I may employ any other suitably-shaped coils, so long as the surface constituted by laying several of said coils side by side or interlocking them will produce a surface in which the coils in use will receive and resist pressure applied transversely to their length. For instance, in Fig. 4 I have shown a spring-coil which in cross-section resembles a triangle, and one side of the triangle-viz., that marked 2-is somewhat crowning or convexed. This auxiliary bed, however formed of spring-coils, is laid upon the platen, and I then preferably apply to this surface a leveling-sheet, as E, said leveling-sheet being made, preferably, of a thin sheet substance having resiliency, and the sheet may be composed either of thin vulcanite iiber or india-rubber, or Celluloid, or thin sheet metal, oranyotherequivalent ilexible surface. Thereafter the usual sheets B2 and B3 may be applied, one or more; or, if desired, in some instances the sheet or sheets B2 B3 may be applied directly to the auxiliary bed, said sheets constituting the upper portion or face of the tympan. The drawings show grippers G. They may be of any usual or suitable construction.

A tympan containing my auxiliary bed composed ofnumerous engaged orinterlocked coils will in use receive pressure transversely to the length of the coils, and any portion of the tympan opposite any uneven portion in the type, plate, or printing surface will yield to thereby enable the tympan to yield sufficiently to adapt itself to such unevenness, and the yielding will be distributed evenly from the spot of greatest resistance, as the printing-surface may require, or, in other words, portions of the bed surrounding the point of greatest pressure due to the unevenness in the printing-surface act to receive a portion of the strain to insure an even distribution of the strain, as the printing-surface requires.

By the term tympan I mean that portion of a press which is opposed to the printingsurface and which acts to press the paper or other material which is to be printed against the printing-surface, and it is obvious that my invention is applicable to any tympan of whatever form, either in a press of the character shown or in cylinder or other power presses.

Having fully described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

l. In a printing-press, a tympan consisting of an auxiliary bed composed of spring-coils lying side by side, the turns of the coils in use receiving and resisting pressure transversely to the length of the coils and a suitable covering, substantially as described.

2. In a printing-press, a tympan consisting of an auxiliary bed composed of spring-coils lying side by side, the turns of the coils in use receiving and resisting pressure transversely to the length of the coils, a levelingsheet, and suitable sheet or sheets to cover the same to contact with the paper to be printed, substantially as described.

3. In a printing-press, a platen, combined with a tympan consisting of an auxiliary bed composed of spring-coils laid side by side, the turns of the coils in use receiving and resisting pressure transversely to the length of the coils, and suitable covering sheet or sheets applied thereto, substantially as described.

4. In a printing-press, a platen, combined with a tympan consisting of an auxiliary bed composed of spring-coils laid side by side, the turns of the coils in use receiving and resisting pressure transversely to the length of the coils, and a leveling-sheet applied to said auxiliary bed, and suitable covering sheet or sheets applied thereto, substantially as described.

5. In a printing-press, a tympan consisting of an auxiliary bed composed of spring-coils laid side by side, and suitably interlocked, and a leveling-sheet applied to said auxiliary bed, and suitable covering sheet or sheets applied thereto, substantially as described.

G. In a printing-press, a tympan containing an auxiliary bed composed of spring-coils interlocked, substantially as described.

7. In a printing-press, a tympan containing an auxiliary bed composed of a series of spring-wires, each bent to present a series of spring-coils, the edges of the turns forming the uppersurface of the bed, the turns of the coils in use receiving and resisting pressure transversely to the length of the coils, substantially as described.

8. In a printing-press, a tympan containing an auxiliary bed composed of aseries of wires, each bent to present a series of coils, the edges of the turns forming coils constituting IOO IIO

the upper surface of the bed, the turns of the coils in use receiving and resisting pressure transversely to the length of the coils, and a Covering at the face of the bed, substantially as described.

9. In a printing-press, e rigid or unyielding type, plate or printing surface, combined With atylnpan presenting springcoils to yield transversely to their length at any point to any unevenness of the said type, plate, or 1o printing surface, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name t0 this specification in the presence of two subscribing Witnesses.

ARTHUR S. ALLEN.

Witnesses:

GEO. W. GREGORY, EDWARD VALPY. 

